Colorado coach Tad Boyle rants about replay, challenges in college basketball: 'Play the damn game'

Colorado coach Tad Boyle wants nothing to do with replay in sports. In a world where every sport seems to be trending towards more replay and use of technology to get calls right, Boyle wants to see less of it.

During Colorado’s 79-70 win over Kansas State on Wednesday night, multiple game stoppages took place for various timeouts and officiating reviews. After the game, Boyle went on a rant against replay and technology in college basketball.

“I hate replay. I hate the challenge rule,” Boyle said. “It’s just — our game has become so technology-driven, and that’s what’s great about sports. Sports has nothing to do with technology. Play the damn game. Officiate the game. Bunch of hogwash.”

While every school in the country can end up on the wrong side of replay and technology at times, Boyle feels his team is especially at a disadvantage when playing at home. That is due to altitude, something Colorado uses to its advantage.

When opposing teams come to play the Buffs, they have to battle with the physical impacts of altitude. But with multiple game stoppages, opponents are given more time to take breathers and rest up, which helps down the stretch in a tight game.

“It sure helps them,” Boyle said. “When you got four reviews for flagrant fouls and then you got, you know, we challenged one and lost it. I mean, yeah — plus you got nine timeouts, media timeouts, four in the first half, five in the second. You got four timeouts from video reviews. What’s that, 13? You got three timeouts by each team. That’s 19? Who the hell wants to watch that?

“At home on TV? I’ll tell you what they’re doing. They’re flipping the damn channel. We probably had some fans here tonight wishing they were home and flipping the channel, because it’s no fun to watch. It’s no fun to coach, it’s no fun to play. And we do lose our homecourt advantage, without a doubt.”

Colorado hoping for NCAA Tournament push

While Boyle might have been frustrated with replay on Wednesday night, he will gladly put up with it if his team comes out on top. Colorado is going to need all the wins it can get if Boyle wants to go dancing in March.

The Buffaloes currently sit at 16-12 overall and 6-9 in Big 12 play and an NCAA Tournament berth looks unlikely. On3’s James Fletcher did not have Colorado in his recent bubble watch piece, but with games against Houston and Arizona to end the season, plus the Big 12 Tournament, perhaps the Buffs could make a late push with some upsets. That will be no easy task, though.